Friday, September 26, 2014

A Little Concert on the Beach

Our friend who's in the air force came home recently for a week, and it just so happened to be the same time Eric Paslay, a new up and coming country artist, was going to be putting on a concert on the beach, down the shore. The bar on the beach was putting on concerts every week of summer, but we hadn't heard about it until summer was almost over. This would be our last country concert, and we were going to make sure we enjoyed it. Sal, our three friends, and I piled into the car. We decided to all head down the shore early, and even though we sat in a little bit of traffic. We made sure we packed a cooler so that we were ready to get the party started as soon as we arrived. The parking lot was filled, so we decided to park next to this huge bus, which would end up being Eric Paslay's tour bus, but I'll get to that a bit later.

We got there early, before people even lined up to enter the bar, so we decided to walk around a bit and explore the bar next door. We got a few drinks, and watched as high tide came in, forcing most of the people off the beach. Heading over early, we stood in line to purchase tickets and wait for our hands to be stamped. Before we knew it, we were standing a few feet away from the stage, and right in front of the bar. It could not have been more perfect if we planned it. Sal and I quickly ordered food, and drinks, because we were starving. Everyone else ordered their drinks, and the night soon began.

It was such a beautiful night, and the bar opened up out on to a porch overlooking the beach. Even though we weren't allowed on the beach, as soon as I stepped out there, the gorgeous view of the sun going down, and the moon lit, took my breath away. I didn't need the sand to enjoy the beach.

Dave Hangley opened up for Eric, and even though I didn't know any of his songs, he ended up being really great. We enjoyed the music as we sipped on our drinks, and noticed that as the night progressed, we were getting even more squished, and our spot didn't seems as great as it did in the beginning of the night. Our friends wandered around, but we stayed put, not wanting to lose our 'prime spot.'

Eric Paslay was up next, and he came out full force! The crowd was already in a great mood, thanks to Dave Hangley, so Eric just made it that much better. He sang all of his hits, and even other ones he wrote, that I didn't even realize were written by him! He played well into the night, and Sal and I were able to see the entire thing! We can't speak for our friends, one of which ended up asleep in the back of Sal's car. I snapped pictures with Dave Hangley, and grabbed a sweet guitar pic from him! He's not famous, but I know he will be one day, and that's just as good as anything.

We left the bar after it had cleared out, and ended up hanging by the car, waiting for our friends to make their way back. But boys will be boys, and we found ourselves waiting for awhile. It just so happened that Eric Paslay's band was hanging out outside of the bus, and we got to talking, and talking, and talking. It was so incredible, and even though I thought I'd get all giddy and nervous talking to someone famous, I actually didn't. Even though I didn't meet Eric Paslay, Sal did as he was grabbing us a few bottles of water. The band, and Eric, were all super nice, and we may just be seeing more of them in the future!